News, views and experiences from the world of MMO's
With the new Battleground Europe update on the way and shiny new toys such as rag doll physics and dynamic weather included, it got me thinking (scary thought I know 
).
All new MMO’s or updates to existing MMO’s introduce some kind of new feature. I remember when the original Everquest introduced a graphics update and everyone went “Ooooohhh shiny”! I remember when climbable walls were added in EQ2 which is also a nice idea, even though I couldn’t climb any old rock I wanted to.
Whilst reading a new site I discovered about MMORPG’s, a small news article caught my attention. The article in question talks about a 10th Anniversary Everquest book which in the final chapter suggests there is another instalment of Everquest in very early development. The author of the article comes to this conclusion from a piece of text in the book which does seem to point to another Everquest based game, though it gives no details as to whether the game would be an Everquest 3 or a console spin off.
I for one would obviously give EQ3 a try should there ever be such a game, as I’m a long time fan of the world of Norrath. I played the original Everquest for a good few years and have played EQ2 from beta until now. Despite EQ2 “dumbing” down a bit to appeal more to the WoW crowd than the original would have done, Everquest 2 is still in my mind the best MMORPG out there.
Admit it, we all thought the writing was well and truly on the wall for Age of Conan. Its bug-ridden launch and subsequent bad press seemed to ensure that it was headed for the same untimely fate as the Dodo. Even the sales assistant in GAME looked at me dubiously when I brought the box to the counter late last year and hesitated before gingerly asking me why I even wanted to buy such a ‘dead’ game. But with a stubborness matched only by the mighty Conan himself, the AoC Development Team have refused to go down without a fight and I think it’s only fair to give their valiant efforts another chance.
A quick post today, regarding crafting in MMOs. Yesterday a simple thanks from a guild mate for an item I made, got me thinking.
Crafting In MMOs is something I always enjoy doing, yes it can be a grind but I do enjoy having the ability to make items for myself and members of my guild or other in game friends.
In Everquest 2 I currently have a Master Tailor (80), a Master Weapon smith (80) and an 80 Woodworker who hasn’t finished his master quest, as I’m lazy.
I was chatting with a friend and fellow MMO player the other day about old MMO zones or features that made you think “Wow this game is amazing/massive”.
That’s right not the World of Warcraft abbreviation, but simply the first time we were amazed by something in an MMO.
For me my first MMO was Everquest and I remember clearly my first foray from Freeport as a Dwarven Paladin named Bruenark. The East Commons was my first out of city area and I wandered around whacking the odd skelly for a bit. Now the East Commons was a nice zone but it’s large tree’s and many huts and other features didn’t give it the large open feel of my next zone.
Carrying on from my earlier post about Sci-Fi MMOs, I decided to take a look around some of the Sci-Fi MMOs that are due to be released this year (with any luck).
One of the games that stood out was Jumpgate Evolution. An impressive looking game by NetDevil. The game is based on space travel and looks a lot like EvE-Online by CCP, however Jumpgate Evolution has one overriding difference, in that it allows you to fly your ship rather than clicking on an area of space to move about like Eve.
As the NDA has been lifted as of 22nd April, I guess I can start telling you of my limited experience of Free Realms.
…or not to subscribe, that is my question. Or rather, is the monthly subscription model for MMO’s a factor in an online game’s survival?
About two years ago I would have said no and was dead set against paying a monthly subscription – after having forked out to play Myth of Soma for over a year. In fact, I lapped up the opportunity to play Guild Wars when it was released with its then revolutionary ‘subscription-free’ financing model, and it must have worked, because it kept me playing through the Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North campaigns. Even now, after trialling some of the more recent MMOs like EVE:Online and Age of Conan, I’m usually put off further playing because it would entail an on-going financial commitment I’m just not willing to make. And I’m convinced that most casual gamers don’t play MMOs for this very reason as they are used to purchasing a game and playing it whenever they like at no extra cost, unless they specifically want to purchase add-on or third party content.
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